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Stoned Drivers Create Accident and Injury Risks in Pennsylvania

Motor vehicle collisions are a top cause of death for young people, and
one of the leading factors is driving under the influence. While alcohol
remains the number one cause of impaired driving accidents, many teens
and college-aged students tend to underestimate the dangers associated with
driving under the influence of marijuana.

In reality, THC is second on the list of substances most likely to be in
the blood of impaired drivers. Studies have demonstrated that 4 to 14
percent of motorists who are injured or killed in traffic accidents tested
positive for having THC in their blood. THC is the active ingredient in
marijuana.

College students may be underestimating just how risky it is to drive after
consuming products with cannabis. Research from the
University of Massachusetts at Amherst provides plenty of cause for worry.

Researchers asked 640 incoming college freshman to respond to survey questions
and 338 agreed. The students were asked about drug and alcohol use as
well as whether they drove impaired. Just seven percent of the survey
respondents admitted to driving under the influence of alcohol in the
30 days leading to the survey. By contrast, 44 percent of men and nine
percent of women admitted that in the prior 30 days they had driven after
consuming cannabis products.

Students were also very likely to get into the car with someone who had
used marijuana. In fact, 51 percent of men and 35 percent of women were
passengers in the car with a stoned driver.

The difference between the number of students driving drunk versus driving
stoned is especially striking when considering that college students were
significantly more likely to use alcohol than cannabis. A total of 30
percent of men and 13 percent of women had used cannabis in the 30 days
before the survey, compared with 67 percent of men and 64 percent of women
using alcohol.

College students need more education and information on the risks that
stoned driving presents so that they can make better choices about not
getting into the car after consuming products containing THC.

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